Lubricator



BeTaNT @Trione ABNER MCNET'I, OF SODS POINT, NEV YORK.

LUBRICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

458,813, dated September 1, 11891.

Application filed December 3, 1890. Serial No. 373,480. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

-Be it known that I, ABNER MCN ETT, a resident of Sodus Point, in thecounty of Vayne and State of New York, haveinvented certain neg' tnduseful Improvements in Lubricators au full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit pertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is'to provide an apparatus for forcinggrease to lubricate crank-pins, cross-heads, and engine-journals bymeans of the water ofeondensation from a steam-pipe, whioh includes acover for the grease-cup and a piston, which are easily removable toIpermit the charging ot the cup with grease, and a flexible connection ofspe- T cih'c character for the con duction of the grease from the cup tothe point of its application; and it consists in the constructionhereinafter described and particularly pointed out.

1n the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of theapparatus. Fig. 2 is a Vertical central section of the grease-cup on anenlarged scale. Figs. 8 and t indicate joints for use in the pipe,through which grease is fed from the cup.

Numeral l indicates the cup, and 2 a detachable cap for the same,provided with notches 3 to receive a tool for screwing the cap on oroit.

4 denotes a stuing-box, of usual form, secured upon the screw-tlneadednipple or boss 5 of the cap.

6 is a piston, and 7 its rod passing` ythrough the stuffing-box 4 andprovided with a handle S.

Petcocks are indicated by t) and( l0, and l I is a delivery-nozzleadapted to be screwed in to afeed-pipe. This is preferably cast solidwith the cup, -as also is the ni pple 5 with the cover. The cocks 9 and,l0 are designedto admit air. The piston fits the cup closely and couldnot conveniently be raised except by admitting air below it, and in somecases, when' Huid `pressure is cut off above the piston, it could notwell be moved downwardly to force grease forward, except provision weremade to admit air. Under some circumstances it 4ilnay be desirable tocharge the cup with afl bricating do hereby declare the following to bea fiuid without disconnecting the cup or removing the piston, which canbe done by forcing the Huid in at 10. If desired, the cup could bepractically emptied through the cock 10 without disconnecting the samefrom its supporting-bracket. The cup is cored out wider at its top thanelsewhere, as indicated at 12, in order to relieve the piston when drawnup to that point, that it may not bind the rod in the stuffing-box whenthe cover is removed.

Jointed pipes have heretofore been used to convey the lubricant to theends of a connecting-rod by means of a pipe fixed thereon, and I do notclaim, broadly, devices of this character. By my improvement the jointedpipes communicate with the fixed pipe approximately mii: {ray betweenits ends, but nearest the upper end, and said fixed pipe communicateswith the joints'at the ends of the rod directly, thereby dispensing witha branch pipe heretofore used. By this special arrangement the effect ofgravity in supplying the lower joint is counterbalanced by the greaterproximity of the upper joint to the source of supply of the lubricant,whereby an equal distribution is effected. I thus both simplify theconstruetionand improve its opf eration.

A hollow nipple or plug is indicated at 13 forthe reception ot asteam-pipe communieating with the boiler or pump of a steamcngine andprovided with a suitable cock 14.

'lhe piston (see Fig. 2) consists of two nuts l5 and 1G, shapedsubstantially as illustrated and screwed upon the piston-rod in suchmanner as to clamp between them a disk 17, ot' .leather or othersuitable material. This has a diameter larger than the internal diameterof thc cup, and when pushed into the cup assumes a concave form, whichis also provided for by the shape of nuts l5 and 16, as shown. Thediameter of the upper nut, which is preferably larger than that of thelower, is such that it holds the leather disk against the wall of thecup. 'lhe disk, however, extends above the outer edge of the upper nut,in order that the pressure of the exhauststeam or water of condensation,as the case may be, shall press the leather against the cup and thuspack the joint.

The above-described grease-cup is attached IOO to any suitablesupport-wxs, for example, a frame 19-to which are connected the brackets20, supporting cross-head guides 21.

A cross-head is denoted by 22, and 23 is a connecting-rod.

24 is a pipe fixed upon the connecting-rod and extending to each ofitsjoi nts and adapted to lubricate them. t

25 is a joint by which L ipe 24 is connected with pipe 26, which permitsfree motion in a yertical plane of said pipe 26. Pipe 26 is joined topipe 27 and the latter to pipe 28 by a somewhat similar joint 29;

, The yielding packing or leather washer of the piston necessarily fitsthe cup closely, and

it has been'found in practice that the unscrewing of the cap, owing tothe irregularities in the piston, and particularly in the flexible partthereof, which cannotbe made permanently and invariably accurate in itsiit, is liable to bend the piston-rod, so as tov injuriously affect itssubsequent working. The piston would also resist the unscrewing of thecap to the extent ofthe friction of the piston-rod in the cap vandstuffing-box. By coring out the interior of the cup at the top space isprovided foi` the easy turning of 'the piston, and also to permit it tobe inclined sidewise slightly when the cap is unscrewed, whereby thedanger of the bending 'of the rod is obviated, and whereby also lessresistance is offered to said unscrewing of the cap.

30 denotes a tubular body, and 31 or 3l denotes a hollow plug orIcoupling-piece adapted to receive a pi'pe and having its opposite end 33of reduced diameter and adapted .to enter the body. The part 33 isprovided with a screw to receive the nutl 33', which forces the Washer34 against the end of the body,which has a ground surface, as also doesthe washer. By this means the body is clamped between the washer andshoulder on the large end of the plug. Adjacent pipes are joined byscrewing one of said pipes into the open end ofl the coupling and theother (or a hollow nipple thereon) into the screwthreaded branchof thebody. `These joints each provide for free motion in a vertical planewithout interfering with tlie flow of the lubricant, so that the lattercan be applied during the continued running of an engine, which is afeature of practical importance in marine and other engines.

35 denotes an opening for the passage of grease.

To fill the cu'p for use and operate the apparatus the piston is pulledup to the upper or enlarged interior part of the cup, the cap unscrewed,the cap and piston removed, and the cup then charged with grease, thevarious cocks being manipulated to provide for the cup its narrower partby a metal the suitable inlet andfescap'e 'of ar,yand to` prevent escapeof grease.y

grease can be forced into the delivery-pipe 'either by hand or. byopening the communication between -the upperv part of the cup and theboiler or pump of a steam-engine. Un-

vder somevcircumstanees other fluids than steam or wat-er maybe used toforce down the piston. The grease when thus forced from liows throughthe' jointed pipes to thepipe 24, which conducts it to the joints of theconnecting-rod. The joints provide for effecting this operation when theengine is in motion. j

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by LettersPatent is l When the'cup is replaced andthe cock suitably disposed, the

1. The cup provided with a removable cap y and having an enlargedinterior diameter having a disk of leather Aor the like nermallycompressed against the walls of the cup at said nut having an upturnededge having a rod extended through the cap, substantially as set forth,whereby the binding of the cap upon the piston-rod during its removal isobviated.

2. The cup provided at its upper part with an inlet for fluid and at itslower end with a discharge-outlet, in combination with a piston andpiston-rod, said piston consisting of a nut 15, having approximately thesize of the cup and having its outer edges turned upwardly and aboutparallel to the wall of the cup, aplain nut 1G of smallerdiameter, and ailexible disk having a that of the cup and its tween the cup-wall andthe upturned rim of the nut 15 clamped between them, substantially asset forth.

l near onel end; in combination with the piston f clamping-nut,

diameter larger than outer portions held bex 3. In combination, in alubricator, a cup fixed upon the engine-fraine provided with a pistonand having an inlet for a duid under pressure above the piston, aconnecting-rod, crank-pin, and cross-head, a pipe extending between thejoints at the ends of said rod, and two pipes having a jointedconnection with each other, one of said pipes being jointed to the saidpipe on the connectingrod approximately midway between the ends IIO oftheA pipe, but above its longitudinal center,

and the other to the cup, substantially as set forth. y

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscrib-l ing witnesses.

' ABNER MoNETT. Vitnesses:

ALFRED B. CLAYSON, JOHN T. MAHoNnY.

